Wind power is considered one of the cleanest, most environmentally friendly energy sources presently available, and wind turbines have gained increased attention in this regard. A modern wind turbine typically includes a tower, a generator, a gearbox, a nacelle, and a rotor including one or more rotor blades. The rotor blades capture kinetic energy from wind using known foil principles and transmit the kinetic energy through rotational energy to turn a shaft coupling the rotor blades to a gearbox, or if a gearbox is not used, directly to the generator. The generator then converts the mechanical energy to electrical energy that may be deployed to a utility grid.
In many wind turbines, the nacelle contains many electrical components that enable a controlled and efficient conversion of wind energy into electrical energy such as, for example, one or more generators, a wind turbine controller, and/or cooling systems. In addition, cables that feed electrical power into electrical supply grids are often routed from the nacelle to the electrical supply grids via the tower. Thus, a plurality of cables may be present in and around the nacelle, as well as down through the tower (e.g. through openings in one or more tower platforms) so as to couple all of the electrical components to a power source.
To maximize the energy production of a wind turbine, the nacelle is typically able to rotate or pivot versus the fixed position of the tower. This allows the rotor blades to be in an optimum position with respect to the wind direction. Hence, the wind turbine is able to exploit a maximum amount of wind energy at all times. Equally, to avoid unfavorable wind gusts or extremely high wind speeds the position of the nacelle may be adjusted accordingly. Based on this movement of the nacelle the cables routed from the nacelle to the tower may be pulled together in a kind of knurl, which is not under control. This twisting and curling behavior of the cables during operation of a wind turbine may lead to several issues such as overheating in the knurls or undesired movement of cables. The undesired movement of the cables may cause excessive wear to the cables and/or may damage surrounding structures. In the worst case, such uncontrolled movements of the cables may result in entanglement of the cables inside of the tower that may eventually lead to system failure.
To address the aforementioned issues, fiberglass reinforced material may be installed around the cable bundles and/or rubber mats may be installed within tower platform openings to control undesired movements of the cables. In certain wind turbines, however, the fiberglass reinforced material fails to stay installed around the cables. Still additional methods for protecting drip loop cables include utilizing large PVC tubing installed within tower platform openings. However, in many cases, such tubing results in high cable air temperatures.
In view of the foregoing, an improved system and method for spacing apart and protecting drip loop cables within the wind turbine would be welcomed in the art. Hence, the subject matter of the present disclosure is directed to a cable securement assembly having an cable spacer.